1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mobile commerce. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods to maintain an electronic waiting list using local, remote, and wireless computerized devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile commerce is an emerging area. In mobile commerce, users generally interact with a business entity using a mobile computerized device with wireless telecommunications means. The computerized device generally includes a microcomputer for operating a web browser and other functions such as a personal or business organizer. Other computer functions may also be supported all the way up to a fully functional computer capable of running general application programs over, for example, a lightweight operating system. The computerized device typically includes a wireless network connection, for example to a cellular system capable of providing Internet or other network access services. The computerized device may also include other telecommunication functions such as H.323 Internet telephony, cellular telephony, one or more direct radio link(s), and/or a local broadcast reception radio link. Moreover the computerized device may include a GPS receiver capable of determining the geographical location of the device. In this application, a computerized device having some or all of the above functions is referred to as a “mobile unit.”
Various embodiments of a mobile units are described in copending U.S. patent applications whose serial numbers are 09/195,171 and 09/418,055. These applications are incorporated by reference and describe various mobile units, systems and architectures for mobile commerce. It should be noted that these applications are provided for background purposes only, and any conflict in terminology or concept between the present application and the incorporated applications should be resolved in favor of the present application. In general, the mobile unit is similar to a Palm Pilot device, except it also has an Internet connection and preferably either a GPS receiver and/or a direct radio receiver or transceiver for local radio communications. The local radio link, for example, may involve a local broadcast signal that sends an Internet address to users within a small geographical vicinity of a broadcast domain transmitter. The mobile unit may be integrated with cellular telephone functions, and the Internet connection and the telephony functions may be implemented, for example, using wideband CDMA technology. Such mobile units have already been reported, and their design and construction is understood by skilled artisans.
One problem encountered in ordinary commerce involves waiting queues. For example, on a Friday night, a popular restaurant may have a one-hour wait. The prior art way to deal with this type of situation is to make a reservation or to get on a waiting list. Reservations are typically made via a telephone. This takes time and is inefficient. Also, some restaurants are only open at night, so this approach may require a person to be available to answer the telephone. It would be desirable to provide a means for customers to make reservations or set up appointments via a mobile computerized device without the need for human interaction.
In this application the term “commerce” is meant to broadly to other types of activities and non-profit organizations. In this application, all such activities will be considered to fall under the general term of “commerce.” Individuals involved in a virtual-wait queue will generally be referred to as “customers,” although they may be students or other types of people. The term “user” or “remote user” is also used to refer to the “customer.”
Prior art electronic list management systems and wait queues have been developed for telephone systems, to include Internet telephony. Callers dial in and are typically presented with interactive voice response prompts. The customers usually dial touch-tones or speak words to indicate their specific needs. In some cases such needs can be entered via an Internet connection. An electronic queue management system manages one or more queues based upon the remote caller's needs. Eventually the caller or Internet user is granted a telephone connection to an operator. In some systems the customer can hang up and the system will call the customer back. In the copending U.S. patent application 09/120,499, an interface window is coupled back to the caller's web browser to indicate to the caller the estimated amount of time left in the call-queue. This indicates to the customer approximately when a callback will be received.
This application incorporates by reference copending application 09/120,499. Certain methods of the present invention find enabling support in the copending application 09/120,499. The relevant part of the copending application 09/120,499 focuses on the discussion and claims provided in connection with FIG. 2 of that application.
While these prior art systems are advantageous for managing telephone wait-queues, they lack the ability to provide customers with physical access to resources. New systems and methods are needed to enable the advantages provided by certain advanced telephone queue management systems to be used to control access to physical resources such as restaurant tables, doctors, financial aid workers, etc. Systems and methods are currently lacking that enable a customer to join a wait-queue for a physical resource and then roam freely until their time left in the queue has diminished.
A pressing need is to provide a system to manage waiting lists for providing physical access to resources so that customers need not physically stand in line or wait in a designated area for their turn to come up. Sometimes wait queues are long and other times they are short. For example, a customer may wish to check the waits at several restaurants before making a choice. Also, the customer may with to enter the wait list remotely. It would be desirable to have an electronic wait list that is managed by both the customer and the staff of an enterprise. This would be useful for many types of enterprises to include restaurants and health care facilities, for example.
It would similarly be desirable to provide a “virtual-wait queue” or a “virtual line” for any enterprise, including a financial aid unit at a major university. With such a system, students could “hold their place in line” without having to wait all day long in front of a building for their turn to come up. Virtual-wait queues thus have the potential to increase productivity in many types of activities.